The Last Fading Light
by westernlove
Summary: When Apollo's sun chariot is stolen will Leo, Piper, Jason, and one of Apollo's daughters be able to find it before it's too late?


So I thought I'd try something different, let me know what you think. I apologize for the bad grammar; I'm trying to think how Leo would talk.

Me and two of my friends, Piper and Jason were walking around camp, trying to find a new girl that we were supposed to team up with for a quest.

"Leo, how did, Chiron say we were going to know her?" Piper asked.

"He said that she was different and very noticeable," I told her.

Just then I heard shouts coming from the battle arena.

"No, just because you recruited a hellhound does not mean that you can beat me! And besides, I believe the rules were no accomplices!"

That was defiantly a girl's shout and I was thinking that we just might have found our new camper. I walked towards the arena with Jason and Piper right behind me. When we reached it I took a seat in the bleachers, watching closely. In the arena was a girl and a guy. The guy was a lot taller then the girl and a lot buffer too. I recognized him. Jim Gates, from the Ares cabin. I hadn't seen the girl before. She was short with auburn hair pulled into a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. Her face was pretty and her nose was dotted with freckles. She had a silver dagger in one hand.

As I watched the guy threw down his spear and stormed out of the arena, looking back at the girl with a scowl before charging off.

"Fine then, be a poor sport!" the girl shouted.

I was surprised. Not many people had the guts to take on a son or daughter of Ares.

"I think we found her," I mumbled.

The girl saw us and a smiled touched her lips. She jumped over the fence of the arena and came up to us.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Cassie?" Jason said.

The girl nodded. "Yep, that's me, Cassie Parker, daughter of Apollo. You must me, Leo, Jason and Piper; Chiron said you'd be looking for me."

"So you know what we have to do?" Jason asked.

"Sure I do, my father's sun chariot missing and we have to find it, cause if we don't then the world with go black. Since Dad was able to get the sun in this morning before the chariot went missing, I'd say we have 24 hours before we no longer see the light of day, literally," Cassie said.

I blinked and then smiled. I had a feeling that me and Cassie were going to get along just fine. Cassie stood up and walked down to the arena. She picked up a golden bow that was on the ground along with a quiver of arrow and a knapsack. She ran back up to us.

"Nice bow," Piper said.

Cassie stared at the bow with admiration.

"Yep, a gift from Dad. Well what are we waiting for? The sun to set? Let's get going!" Cassie exclaimed.

She strapped the quiver of arrows on her back and then she put the knapsack on. She slipped her dagger into her pack and then started walking. We all followed her.

"I think she's just a little overly excited about this quest," Piper noted.

"Is overly excited a bad thing?" I asked.

"When it could lead to our deaths? Yes," Jason said.

I shrugged. I was used to these guys bursting my bubbles. The truth was, I was a little excited too. I mean, how many demigods can actually say they've seen Apollo's sun chariot? Okay, a lot of them can…but that's not that point. Some of the other half-bloods said goodbye to us as we stepped out of the protection of the camp. As soon as a demigod steps out of the protection of camp-half-blood they are immediately in danger. Demigods are monster magnets, so we always have to keep our guard up.

Jason and Piper were walking hand-in-hand and I frowned. That was gross. I mean, I knew they were all lovey-dovey with each other, but that didn't mean that they had to show the whole world. I jogged to catch up with Cassie, who had gotten a little ahead of us. I glanced at her through the corner of my eye. She was pretty; there was no doubt about that. She had a small nose and full lips that were still curled into a smile. She must have sensed that I was staring at her, cause she turned her head towards me. After a few awkward moments she spoke.

"So Whacha got in that tool belt of yours?" she asked, "From what I've gathered, it's magical and can give you anything you need."

"Well, not anything, but close to it," I said.

"And I've also heard that you're immune to fire? And can just make it appear?" she questioned.

My face got hot and I could tell that I was blushing big time. I scratched the back of my neck and dipped my head down. Cassie laughed. It was a soft laugh, and I couldn't help but grin a little.

"Hey, it's nothing to get embarrassed about, I think it's totally awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" I asked.

"Totally," she answered.

There was a tap on my shoulder and I looked over my shoulder to see Jason and Piper right behind us.

"So does anyone know where we start looking for the chariot?" Jason asked, an eyebrow cocked.

I stopped so quickly that Jason plowed into my, knocking me to the ground. I got to my feet and brushed myself off. Jason gave me one of those looks and I managed a sheepish grin. Jason slapped his forehead.

"Leo, you're the one who asked for this quest and you didn't even bother to find out where we're supposed to look? Piper demanded, "Didn't Rachel tell you where in the prophecy?"

I had been the only one to go into Rachel's cave to hear the prophecy and I guess I had been too distracted by how freaky it was to even hear what she was saying.

"Oops," I said.

Jason looked like he was about ready to strangle me. His eyes were on fire and his fists were clenched at his side. I wanted to hide under a rock.

"Chill everyone," Cassie spoke up.

All eyes turned to her. Her eyebrows were raised and a smile of amusement was toying at her lips.

"I can find out where the chariot is," she said.

We all stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"It's my dad's chariot, now just watch and learn."

She put her fingers to her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. At first nothing happened, but then I heard something from above. I looked up and didn't believe what I saw. Two Pegasus were flying down on us. That wasn't the strange part; the strange part was that they were glowing! They landed near Cassie and nudge her with their noses. She patted both of them.

"Hey, guys, how 'bout helping my friends out?" Cassie suggested.

The animals whinnied and Cassie nodded.

"Right, that's the problem," she said.

She glanced at me with a crooked grin. And the tops of my ears got suddenly hot.

"I thought only Percy could talk to horses and Pegasus," I said.

"These aren't just any Pegasus; these are the Pegasus that pulled my dad's chariot. Therefore, I'm able to talk to them and they can find the chariot," Cassie said.

"Oh…I knew that," I nodded.

While Cassie had a conversation with the glowing ponies I stood there, feeling awkward and out of place. Do you ever get that feeling? If you have then you can sympathize with me.

A few minutes later Cassie turned to us with a large smile on her face.

"Good news, they know where the chariot is and they can take us there," she said, then her face clouded over, "Bad news, Ares took the chariot and as far as the Pegasus know, he's moving fast and we might not be able to get the chariot before the sun goes."

"Ares? Why would Ares what your dad's chariot?" Jason asked.

"Apparently he got tired of me whooping his son's butts and now he wants revenge," Cassie said.

"So what do we do if we can't get to the chariot on time?" Piper demanded.

Cassie bit her lip and hesitated a moment before answering.

"I could always ask a favor from a relative," she said.

"Who?" I said.

"My aunt."

"Artemis?" Jason asked.

Cassie nodded. "Yeah, the only problem is that she and my dad aren't on very good terms as of right now, cause my dad was hitting one of her hunters."

"Well I might be able to pull some strings," Jason said, "my sisters a huntress of Artemis."

Cassie's face lit up. "Great, then let's get going!"

She walked over to one of the Pegasus's and pulled herself up on its back. Jason mounted the other and Piper got on behind him, clinging to his waist. I just stood there. I really didn't like horses and they didn't like me, so we had an understanding with each other. I wouldn't ride em' if they didn't bite my butt.

"Come on, Leo, you can ride with me," Cassie offered.

"Um…why don't I stay here while you guys go find the chariot," I suggested.

"Leo you wanted this quest, now grow up and get on," Piper laughed.

I shuffled over and Cassie helped me onto the Pegasus. Nothing happened. For once a Pegasus wasn't trying to kill me.

"Don't worry, Leo, as long as you're riding with me they won't hurt you," Cassie said, then she spoke a command in Greek and the Pegasus took to the air. I held on tight to Cassie's waist. Riding bareback was hard enough when you're on the ground, but let me tell you, riding bareback in the air at speeds never imagined…well let's just say I hope you never have to experience it. We were going so fast that I thought my face was going to come off just from the blowing wind. It was difficult for me to hold on good, cause Cassie's arrows, knapsack and bow were taking up most of the room on the horse.

Before long the Pegasus's dipped down and landed on the ground. We were in the middle of a forest and it was dark, cold and doggone creepy. Cassie slid off the horse and I jumped down after her. I looked around. Who in their right mind would want to come to this place? Jason and Piper came up next to me. Piper rubbed her arms as if she had a sudden chill. Cassie said something to the horses and they whinnied. I watched as they began to shimmer and then they disappeared before my eyes.

"Wait, how are we supposed to catch Ares without the glowing Pegasus's?" I demanded.

"Relax, Leo, they'll be back. I just don't want Artemis to get upset by seeing Dad's horses," Cassie told me.

That made sense. Cassie took her bow from her back and pulled an arrow from her quiver. This made me panic a little. What was she doing? Cassie notched the arrow, pulled the string back and sent it flying through the air.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Piper asked cautiously.

"It was an enchanted arrow," Cassie explained, "Dad gave it to me for emergencies and I think I would count this as an emergency."

"What does it do exactly?" Jason spoke up.

"Tells the huntresses that we come in peace," Cassie said.

Just then there was a rustling in the bushes and I jerked my head up to see three girl's step out of the trees. One looked about twelve with red hair and hazel eyes, the other looked fifteen or sixteen and had white-blond hair and blue eyes and the other I recognized. Thalia Grace, Jason's sister. When Thalia saw us her eyes lit up. She ran to Jason and hugged him.

"Hi, Thalia," Jason said.

"Hi, yourself, why haven't you come to visit me?" Thalia demanded.

"Been busy," Jason said.

"Alright, as lovely as this reunion is, we here on strictly business," Cassie reminded Jason.

"Uh, right," Jason stammered.

"I assume you are looking for me."

The girl with the white-blond hair stepped forward and looked directly as Cassie.

"Hello, Cassie," she said.

Cassie nodded and then stepped up to meet her aunt. Since Cassie was so short Artemis towered over her, but Cassie had a look of confidence on her face.

"I need a favor," Cassie said.

"Yes, I heard my brother's chariot was stolen. I assume you wish for me to have the moon appear during the day?" Artemis inquired.

Cassie nodded. "I know you and Dad aren't on best terms right now, but this isn't for me, it's for all people, demigods and mortals."

"I'm not sure," Artemis said.

I could see that Jason was silently pleading with his sister to lend a hand. Thalia stayed quiet for a moment before speaking.

"Please, My Lady, if not for the mortals then for me," Thalia said.

It was risky to speak to a goddess this way, but I had learned that Thalia would take a risk no matter how great. Artemis pondered this over some before answering.

"Alright, once the sun disappears I will have the moon appear, but only for one day," she said.

Cassie sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Artemis turned and so did the younger looking girl. They walked into the forest, but Thalia stayed behind a little longer.

"Be careful, all of you," she said.

Then she turned and disappeared into the trees. Cassie let out another shrill whistle and the air shimmered in front of us. The Pegasus's appeared and we mounted them and took to the sky. I wondered why they had appeared flying the first time and then shimmering the second time. I shrugged it off and decided not to question it any further.

"How long will it take to find Ares?" I shouted over the roar of the wind.

"Not sure, the Pegasus's are going as fast as they can and we'll get to him when we can," Cassie called back.

The day had already been half over when we had left the camp and I was starting to get a little tired now. I couldn't tell if it was night or not, cause without the sun chariot the sun couldn't set. Hours dragged on and I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I slumped forward onto Cassie and dropped off to sleep.

When I woke up it seemed darker then it should be. I looked up to see that the light was fading. How long had I been asleep? Cassie was still clinging to the Pegasus's mane and I could see her eyes, locked on the horizon. I glanced next to us. Jason and Piper were both awake.

"Why's it so dark?" I asked.

I know that was a stupid question, but I was still groggy and disoriented. No one answered. My stomach rumbled and I suddenly realized that I was seriously hungry. I was about to open my mouth to speak when Jason's Pegasus whinnied. I looked over to see that its form was shimmering. Then the strangest thing happened. The animal just completely vanished and Piper and Jason were sent spiraling through the air. As I watched Jason caught Piper and used his super flying power to stop them in mid-air. Freaky!

Suddenly our Pegasus whinnied and then I felt myself falling. Cassie screamed as we tumbled through the air. It took me a moment to process what happened. Once I figured it out I started screaming too. We were falling! I got lucky. Jason snagged the back of my shirt, so that I at least slowed down. The three of us hit the ground in a heap. I got to my feet and did a mental check. I was alright, not even a scratch. Cassie wasn't as lucky. I watched as she smacked into the ground and rolled into a pile of rocks.

"Cassie!" Piper shrieked.

We all ran to her. There she lay, crumpled into a ball. She was beat up pretty bad and there was a big bruise on her temple. Her bow lay next to her, not even bent. Jason helped me remove her arrows and knapsack before we carefully moved her from the rocks to a soft patch of grass. Piper dug through her pack and pulled out a small canteen.

I snatched it from her, guessing that it was nectar, considering all demigods carry it with them on a quest. Jason propped Cassie up while I poured the godly drink into her partially opened mouth. She swallowed and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She smiled weakly.

"Hey guys," she croaked.

"Take it easy, Cassie, you're pretty banged up," Jason said softly.

"Paste, in my pack," she whispered.

Piper dug around in the pack a little more and then pulled out a silver jar. I recognized it. Apollo's healing paste. All of the Apollo children carried it around with them.

I gently put the paste on Cassie's cuts and bruises and they immediately disappeared. A few minutes later I helped Cassie to her feet. She winced when she put weight on her left ankle. I sat her back down and Jason carefully pulled off her sneaker and sock. The ankle was swollen and turning purple. Jason examined it.

"Looks like you sprained your ankle pretty badly," he said.

"Well I'm not gonna let that stop me. Help me up," she ordered.

She held her hand out, but when no one took it she pushed against the ground.

"Fine, I'll do it myself," she grumbled.

As soon as she said that Jason reluctantly reached out and pulled her to a standing position.

"Hey, Leo, you got a crutch in there, by any chance?" Cassie asked, nodding towards my tool belt.

There was no harm in trying. I put my hand in and felt round. I pulled my hand back out and with it came a long stick that had been shaped into a crutch type thingy. I handed it to Cassie and she tucked it under her arm, using it to balance. Piper handed Cassie her bow and arrows.

"I'll carry your pack," Piper offered.

Cassie nodded her thanks.

"So what happened to the Pegasus?" I asked.

"Without sun they don't exist. Looks like we're on foot from here," Cassie told us.

"How are we supposed to find Ares now?" Piper demanded.

"I might be able to help with that."

We all turned towards the voice to find a young looking guy. He looked about eighteen with blond hair, big eyes and the perfect tan. He walked towards us.

"Hi, Cassie," he greeted.

"Hey, Dad," Cassie said in a not very enthusiastic voice.

"That's Apollo?!" I demanded.

I said it a little too loudly cause Apollo gave me a raised eyebrow look and then a grin that showed his bright teeth.

"Yes, I'm Apollo and I have something that might help you guys," he said.

He pulled something out of his pant pocket and handed it to Cassie. It was a map.

"I would go after the chariot myself, but I've been working on a ballad that will shock the world," Apollo said.

"Please, Dad, no poetry," Cassie begged.

"You're right, you need to hear it when it's finished. Now let me fix that ankle so you can be on your way," Apollo inquired.

He bent down and touched Cassie's ankle. She grimaced and then sighed in relief, her face less taunt.

"Alright, well good luck."

And with that Apollo marched away.

"When I pictured Apollo, I didn't picture…" I started.

"A beach dude that does not have a knack for poetry," Cassie finished.

I nodded. Cassie shook her head and opened up the map. It looked like an old treasure map, the kind that you would find in a pirate movie or something. Only difference is that it had a glowing X instead of a plain one. Cassie pointed to the X.

"That's where Ares is. Funny though, he's not moving anymore, almost as if he wants us to find him," Cassie said.

"Okay well how are we supposed to get there?" Piper asked.

I glanced around and grinned when my eyes landed on an old car that lay in a heap just a few yards away.

"May I suggest we drive?" I said.

Cassie looked at the car and then rolled her eyes.

"Leo, I know you're Hephaestus's son and all, but…well look at that thing! It's got to be at least 50 years old!" She exclaimed.

Jason laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just watch and learn, Cassie."

I took it as an invitation to get to work so I ran to the car and started. It didn't take me that long to fix it and I was even able to hotwire it. Within the hour I had it purring like a kitten.

"Hop in!" I shouted.

My friends ran and climbed in, Cassie in the front and Piper and Jason in the back. I stomped on the gas and the machine lurched forward. I pulled onto the road and listened as Cassie gave me directions. After a few minutes I started to get seriously bored.

"How about we sing a song?" I suggested.

"No!" everyone shouted at once.

The rest of the drive was quiet and the silence was a bit unnerving. Hours later Cassie broke the silence.

"There it is!" she shouted.

I looked to see that she was pointing at a small café that sat on the side of the road. I didn't see anything that looked like a chariot.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Oh course I'm sure, that's where the map says the chariot is," Cassie argued.

I pulled into the parking lot and glanced around. Still didn't see a chariot. I looked at Cassie.

"Okay where's the chariot?" I demanded.

"Right there," she said.

She was pointing at a very expensive looking sports car. It was bright red and so clean that it looked like it was glowing. Hey wait a minute…it was glowing!

"Your dad's chariot is a sports car?" I asked.

"Yep, and a bus, and a motorcycle and anything that the owner wants it to be. I guess Dad had it in sports car mode when Ares took it," Cassie said.

Just then the sky sent completely dark. I heard screams from inside the café. I couldn't see a thing, but I heard Cassie mumbled.

"Come on…please keep your promise," she whispered.

I looked at what I thought was the sky. It was hard to tell up from down and left from right when there was absolutely no light. Suddenly there was a glimmer of light that slowly got brighter. The moon. I heard Cassie sigh and then I saw her face in the moonlight. Her eyes were now blazing with fire and she stomped towards the café. Me, Jason and Piper followed. The only question I had was, how were we supposed to know which person Ares was? I didn't have to ponder over this question long, cause Ares found us.

He was in the form of a huge guy with greasy black hair and a scruffy beard. He didn't look at all like a guy that should own a fancy car. He came over to us and ushered us outside without a word. Once we were outside he turned to us and laughed harshly.

"Well you finally found me," he said.

Then he looked at Cassie with hatred.

"You wouldn't have even had to go through all this trouble if you hadn't been cheating to beat my boys in battle," he growled.

"Your boys are wimps, I didn't need to cheat to kick their butts," Cassie hissed.

"Why you little…" Ares screamed in rage.

He held out his hand and instantly a spear appeared. It was wickedly sharp with a golden shaft.

"We'll battle it out," he said.

With one swipe of his hand Ares changed our surroundings. We were now in a battle arena. Me, Jason and Piper were sitting up on the stands and Cassie and Ares were in the ring.

"Cassie, no!" Piper shouted, "You'll get killed!"

Cassie didn't listen. She grabbed her silver bow and notched an arrow. With one quick motion she let it fly, shouted.

"In the name of, Apollo!"

The arrow struck Ares in the shin and he roared in rage. Golden blood flowed from the wound when Ares jerked the arrow out, but the wound quickly healed.

"Girl, today you die!" Ares growled.

I lurched out of my seat to help, but suddenly a cage fell on the three of us, making it impossible for us to go to Cassie's aid. Ares laughed.

"This is between me and the girl!"

All I could do was watch helplessly as Cassie and Ares battled it out. Cassie managed to hit Ares with a few more arrows, but it seemed to anger him more then it hurt him. The god of war threw his spear and it sailed through the air, grazing Cassie's shoulder. She yelped and stumbled back, grasping the wound. It was agonizing just watching, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help Cassie. The fight went on for what seemed like eternity. Cassie was now out of arrows and she had nothing to fight with. Then I remembered her dagger! I grabbed the knapsack from Piper and dug out the dagger.

"Cassie, catch!" I yelled.

I tossed the dagger through the bars of the cage and the dagger landed on the ground. Cassie dove for it, but Ares knocked her feet out from under her. She hit the ground with a thud and rolled away before Ares was able to stomp her flat. She got to her knees and crawled towards her weapon. She was able to wrap her finger around the hilt before Ares grabbed her feet and dragged her back. Once she was right under Ares Cassie turned her body and plunged the dagger into Ares chest. He let out a booming yell that shook the whole arena. He yanked the dagger out and tossed it to the ground. He was breathing hard and he looked down at Cassie with pure hatred.

"You win this time girl, but you haven't seen the last of me!"

Then the arena disappeared. We were in the parking lot of the café and so was Apollo's chariot. Cassie stood there, cradling her wounded arm. I rushed to her and looked at the gash.

"That looks bad, we've got to clean it out," I told her.

"Later! We need to get the chariot back to my dad, times running out," she said.

I looked up at the sky and found that she was right. The bright light from the moon was slowly fading. Cassie ran towards the sports car, but I beat her to it and jumped in behind the wheel.

"Get in!" I shouted.

Cassie, Jason and Piper piled in. I found the key under the floor mat and I shoved it into the ignition.

"Leo, I have to warn you, my dad's chariot isn't easy to drive. My dad even has a hard time keeping it from crashing," Cassie cautioned.

"No sweat, I can handle this baby," I told her.

I was immediately corrected as soon as I got the thing in the air. First of all, I didn't know that it flew, and second of all, the steering had to broken. We bounced through the sky, as I tried to avoid birds, clouds and other hazards that you find when flying a really cool car through the sky.

"Leo, if we die, I'm going to kill you!" Piper yelled.

The landing was more difficult then I had first anticipated. I had to land it near camp-half-blood and this proved to be very difficult considering the place is covered with trees. There were a couple campers that had come out to greet us.

"In coming!" I shouted.

The world went black and the next thing I knew I was lying flat on my back checking out the sky. Wait, the sun was out. Either we had saved the day or there was sun in the underworld. I was going for my first guess. Cassie was standing above me, a grin on her face.

"Congrats, you didn't kill us," she joked.

She helped me to my feet and I looked around. The whole camp was surrounding us and they were clapping and whistling.

"Where's your dad?" I asked Cassie.

"He had to go, but he wanted me to tell you that you could drive his chariot any time you wanted," Cassie told me.

I shook my head. "No thanks!"

Cassie took my head in her hands and leaned forward, planting her lips over mine in a kiss. When she pulled away, my face got bright red and my eyes budged. Cassie smiled sheepishly.

"My hero," she whispered.


End file.
